Pop-up ads

I bought one and don't even notice it. The ad only shows on the main screen and a single swipe of your finger gets rid of it. It does not intrude on the UI anywhere else. Plus the cool thing is you can buy the ad supported one and if you decide later that you don't like the ads you can simply pay $20 and they're gone forever.

I wish TiVo would offer an option like that. I'd pay an extra $20 to opt-out of the ads.

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Right, but you 'opted in' to ads, you have no reason to complain if they change the advertising lineup and start introducing ads more frequently, like between book chapters.

In the case of the TiVo, I bought it knowing that it had ad types A B and C and now they've added type D and I'm not happy about that... especially considering the Cadillac pricing of TiVo.

You seem to feel that TiVo broke some kind of implicit contract with you by running the pause ads. Could you state exactly what you felt that contract was (all of it) at the time you bought the TiVo?

I have no idea what your conception of the contract with TiVo was.

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Nope, it's not worth going into verbal contracts, terms of service and how courts have upheld consumers having reasonable expectations of service delivery for products they've bought and paid for.

Clearly there are more people who empathize with TiVo, like Carbonite ads, want TiVo to make more money because of the terror of a world without TiVo than people like me who are needled by all of these annoying changes.

Nope, it's not worth going into verbal contracts, terms of service and how courts have upheld consumers having reasonable expectations of service delivery for products they've bought and paid for.

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That wasn't what I asked at all, and I suspect you know that. You've been arguing that TiVo broke a contract with you, but are unwilling to say what the contract was. People have been arguing with that, not that this wasn't objectionable behavior by TiVo. Lots of people are annoyed at TiVo, but you're the only one saying they broke a contract. Why?

I hope you didn't take that personally, it wasn't meant to be. I apologize.

I already feel like a PT Barnum victim just buying the lifetime service, let alone if they asked me to pay them even more for one of their "features" to rectify an issue THEY created. Please excuse my cynicism.

I feel like that giant fat guy from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life where the waiter asks him to eat just "one more wafer thin mint" after he just engorged himself for hours. He said he couldn't fit one more thing inside but he let himself be talked into it, so he ate the tiny mint and then EXPLODED all over the restaurant!

I already feel like a PT Barnum victim just buying the lifetime service

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Why's that? If you keep it for 2 years, the service is easily offset by what you'd pay a cable co for a lesser dvr. Seems to me that paying the cable co every month for an inferior product is the sucker's bet.

I completely agree that tivo should offer an ad opt out. Whether I would pay would depend on how much they want. At this point, the ads don't bother me much so I wouldn't pay much.

Why's that? If you keep it for 2 years, the service is easily offset by what you'd pay a cable co for a lesser dvr. Seems to me that paying the cable co every month for an inferior product is the sucker's bet.

I completely agree that tivo should offer an ad opt out. Whether I would pay would depend on how much they want. At this point, the ads don't bother me much so I wouldn't pay much.

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That's not even close to an accurate representation.

A base level Roamio with Lifetime service is approximately $700 for the typical customer who does not know they can get a $100 off lifetime discount when making the purchase.

Most cable companies charge $15 or so per month for a DVR. They also provide the equivalent of a lifetime extended warranty including the ability to upgrade to a better model at zero cost to the consumer.

2 years of renting the cable company DVR is about $360, which is far shy of the $700 a TiVo runs. TiVo has great resale value today, but we don't really know what it will be in another 2-3-4 years, especially if they keep stuffing it with ads.

I like my TiVo a LOT better than the cable company DVR, but that's primarily because Comcast boxes are crap. The ones from Dish Network and DTV, which friends of mine have, while not up to TiVo quality are not "terrible" these days.

Why's that? If you keep it for 2 years, the service is easily offset by what you'd pay a cable co for a lesser dvr. Seems to me that paying the cable co every month for an inferior product is the sucker's bet.

I completely agree that tivo should offer an ad opt out. Whether I would pay would depend on how much they want. At this point, the ads don't bother me much so I wouldn't pay much.

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I'm mainly comparing it to the Windows Media Center, PC cablecard tuner, xbox360 whole home solution. The equipment costs are about the same and then there's no service fee to get guide data, etc.

A base level Roamio with Lifetime service is approximately $700 for the typical customer who does not know they can get a $100 off lifetime discount when making the purchase.

Most cable companies charge $15 or so per month for a DVR. They also provide the equivalent of a lifetime extended warranty including the ability to upgrade to a better model at zero cost to the consumer.

2 years of renting the cable company DVR is about $360, which is far shy of the $700 a TiVo runs. TiVo has great resale value today, but we don't really know what it will be in another 2-3-4 years, especially if they keep stuffing it with ads.

I like my TiVo a LOT better than the cable company DVR, but that's primarily because Comcast boxes are crap. The ones from Dish Network and DTV, which friends of mine have, while not up to TiVo quality are not "terrible" these days.

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I was talking about the service only, so it's actually a quite valid comparison thanks. $15 is a little low, they are inching up every year, most are more like $18 or $20 these days. At $18 x 24 months, you are up to $432 already.

The price of the device is offset when you sell it. You won't get all your money back, but you will get a good percentage of it.

I was talking about the service only, so it's actually a quite valid comparison thanks. $15 is a little low, they are inching up every year, most are more like $18 or $20 these days. At $18 x 24 months, you are up to $432 already.

The price of the device is offset when you sell it. You won't get all your money back, but you will get a good percentage of it.

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Your comparison is still flawed. A TiVo without lifetime has very little resale value after 2-3 years... at least that has held true for the last couple of generations.

So someone can spend roughly the same amount for TiVo service or a cable rental that includes a warranty and the equivalent of free upgrades 'for life'.... and that doesn't include the initial outlay for the TiVo hardware or any additional cable-card charges they might incur if it's not the only device on their network.

The point I'm trying to make is that loading up the TiVo with additional adds dilutes it's value, at least that's my opinion.

Right, no ads and free guide data (for how long?)... but no more bug fixes and no new features, ever. Plus, WMC is not without its share of annoyances.

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Worked pretty damned well for me and any bugs I had were indeed cleared within a couple weeks by the tuner manufacturers. Much more than I can say for my TiVo equipment. It just "worked"! There are "features" provided by third party developers btw. I do like TiVo believe it or not. Been a customer since the first 14 hr Philips model. It's just they push the limits and get pretty greedy sometimes and I don't think do the best things for their customers very often. They could've been HUGE by now if they did some things differently in the past. This is all my humble opinion anyway.

A base level Roamio with Lifetime service is approximately $700 for the typical customer who does not know they can get a $100 off lifetime discount when making the purchase.

Most cable companies charge $15 or so per month for a DVR. They also provide the equivalent of a lifetime extended warranty including the ability to upgrade to a better model at zero cost to the consumer.

2 years of renting the cable company DVR is about $360, which is far shy of the $700 a TiVo runs. TiVo has great resale value today, but we don't really know what it will be in another 2-3-4 years, especially if they keep stuffing it with ads.

I like my TiVo a LOT better than the cable company DVR, but that's primarily because Comcast boxes are crap. The ones from Dish Network and DTV, which friends of mine have, while not up to TiVo quality are not "terrible" these days.

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You have to compare apple's to apple's. So the number of tuners need to be the same. With my Roamio Pro at $600, msd lifetime and two TiVo Minis with lifetime. The breakeven point is around 33 months when compared to what FiOS and Comcast offers in my area.. And that is before the resale value is added in since you own the TiVos.

With current pricing and getting a plus and adding your own drive, the breakeven point is even lower.

Your comparison is still flawed. A TiVo without lifetime has very little resale value after 2-3 years... at least that has held true for the last couple of generations.

So someone can spend roughly the same amount for TiVo service or a cable rental that includes a warranty and the equivalent of free upgrades 'for life'.... and that doesn't include the initial outlay for the TiVo hardware or any additional cable-card charges they might incur if it's not the only device on their network.

The point I'm trying to make is that loading up the TiVo with additional adds dilutes it's value, at least that's my opinion.

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And I agree with that point. Sorry I wasn't clear - I was comparing lifetime service, to renting from cable Co., in which case the lifetime service bill is offset by renting a dvr for around 2 years. The $400 lifetime, not $500, since that's what I've paid for both my tivos.